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Canterlot High
Canterlot High is a 2015 American 3D computer-animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It is the 55th Disney animated feature film. The film was directed by Rich Moore, and the screenplay was written by Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee from a story by Moore, Johnston, and Jim Reardon. John Lasseter served as the executive producer. The film features the voices of Margot Robbie, Faith Hill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jenny Slate, Alicia Fox, Kristin Chenoweth, Rainn Wilson, and Selena Gomez and tells the story of a teenage girl named Twilight, who's crown has been stolen and has been teleported into a high school and seen some new friends she never seen before. So, she has to get her crown back. Moore conceived the film's original concept in 2008. Johnston originally directed the film with Spencer until May 2013, leaving the later as its sole director. Canterlot High was the first Walt Disney Animation Studios film to use the studio's new animation technology to produce its animated visuals and lighting. Canterlot High premiered at the El Capitan Theatre on November 3, 2015, and went into general release on November 6. The film received critical acclaim, with many critics praising its animation, concept, characters, score, and vocal performances, particularly of Robbie and was also a critical and commercial success, grossing $657 million worldwide against a $165 million budget. Canterlot High ''won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and also received nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Sound Mixing, the Golden Globe Award for Best Animated Feature Film, the BAFTA Award for Best Animated Film, ten Annie Awards (including Best Animated Feature), and two Critics' Choice Movie Awards for Best Animated Feature and Best Comedy. The film's success has since helped spawn an expanded franchise, including an upcoming television series on Disney+, a sequel, ''Canterlot High 2: Rainbow Rocks, which was released on August 24, 2018, while a spin-off/prequel focusing on Sunset Shimmer is set for release on November 20, 2020. A third film, Canterlot High 3, is currently in development and is scheduled to be released on February 1, 2022. Plot The movie opens in the Crystal Empire, with Twilight Sparkle, Spike and their friends disembarking the train at the station and heading to the Crystal Castle to attend Twilight's first princess summit since her coronation. Twilight is both nervous and excited (or "nervicited", as Pinkie puts it) about the summit and feeling self-conscious about wearing her crown, but her friends are supportive as expected, believing her new status as princess should be embraced. In the throne room, Twilight bumps into an amber-coated Pegasus royal guard who introduces her as "her highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle", and she and her friends meet with Princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadance. Celestia takes notice of how tired Twilight and her friends look from their trip and sends the seven of them off to bed. Some time later, as she tries on her crown, Twilight is once again feeling unsure of herself, wondering what will happen now that she's a princess. Spike assures her everything will be fine, and the two of them go to sleep (though Twilight has some trouble trying to keep her wings folded). Later that night, a pony in a cloak sneaks into the castle, past the patrol of royal guards and into Twilight and Spike's guest room. Using unicorn magic, the cloaked pony switches Twilight's crown with a fake crown and attempts to make off with it. However, as the unicorn sneaks past Spike, he rolls over in his sleep at the last second, flipping his tail in the way. The thief trips over it with their back hoof, crashing into the floor and stirring Twilight and Spike from their sleep. Twilight, noticing the crown in the unicorn's saddlebag, cries "Thief!" before giving chase. Her shouts wake the other Element bearers as she passes their rooms and they quickly join the pursuit. She attempts to cut the thief off by teleporting, but the unicorn is just as skilled at teleportation as she is; uncloaked by the spell, the thief is revealed to be a mare. Twilight tackles the fleeing unicorn to the ground as they reach a chamber in the castle that houses a large mirror. During the struggle, Twilight's crown falls through the mirror. With a wicked grin and a sarcastic, insincere apology, the mystery mare untangles herself from Twilight by teleporting to the mirror and leaps through it, to Twilight and her friends' shock. The next morning, Princess Celestia identifies the unicorn as Sunset Shimmer, her former student. She began her studies under Celestia not long before Twilight but had turned cruel and dishonest when she didn't get what she wanted as quickly as she'd liked. She subsequently abandoned her studies (eventually going through the mirror, apparently). Spike brings out the fake crown, with Princess Celestia surmising that Sunset hoped that Twilight wouldn't notice the switch right away, and by the time she did, it would be too late to retrieve the real one. When Twilight asks where Sunset fled to, the other princesses show her and her friends to the mirror. The mirror is in fact a gateway to another world, an alternate world, that opens once every thirty moons. It used to be kept in the throne room of Canterlot Castle, as Princess Celestia hoped that Sunset Shimmer would use it to return to Equestria some day to seek her guidance. The princesses task Twilight with venturing into this other world and retrieving her crown; without it, the other Elements of Harmony are powerless, and Equestria loses one of its greatest defenses. Not only that, but the Elements do not belong on the other side. Sunset would likely use the Element of Magic to harm the inhabitants of the alternate realm, and they will not be able to defend themselves against its power. Unfortunately, such a task has its share of complications. For one, Twilight must go alone, as sending her with all of her friends could upset the balance of the other world and complicate her mission further. What's more is that the gateway will only be open for another three days. When the moon reaches its peak in the night sky at that time, the gateway will close, and it will be another thirty moons before Twilight can use it to return to Equestria. With some encouragement from her friends, Twilight steps through the gateway. Only moments later, an anxious Spike follows after her. Dizzy from the journey across worlds, Twilight opens her eyes, surprised to find Spike—now a small purple-furred dog—standing before her. They at least know what his current form is, because what is even more alarming is the fact Twilight herself is now a creature they are completely unfamiliar with: a human teenager. The two find themselves outside what appears to be a castle, and immediately begin their search for Twilight's crown. However, Twilight struggles to get used to her new body, learning to walk upright and get around without magic. Twilight and Spike enter the seemingly empty "castle", and Twilight gets a first look at her new body through a display case's glass windowpane. Suddenly, a bell rings, and dozens of multi-colored teenagers pour into the hallway. An overwhelmed Twilight stumbles her way out of the crowd and bumps into a teenage boy with spiky blue hair who helps her to her feet. As Twilight watches him walk off, it becomes apparent to her and Spike that it's not a castle they're in but a school. Twilight grows more accustomed to her human body and closely observes the inhabitants of the strange new world she's in. As she passes by faces both new and familiar to her, she listens in on a conversation between two girls: one is being considerably cruel and verbally abusive to the other. Twilight steps in to defend the girl being harassed, but her oppressor shrugs Twilight off and walks away, saying she can speak to anyone any way she wants. As Twilight comes to discover, that was Sunset Shimmer. The girl Twilight stood up for introduces herself as Fluttershy, much to Twilight's surprise. Before she can dwell on this, Fluttershy notices Spike and starts to fawn over him in the exact same manner her pony counterpart did when they first came to Ponyville. Twilight asks Fluttershy about the crown; Fluttershy tells her that she had indeed found the crown. While handing out flyers for Canterlot's animal shelter on the front lawn that morning, the crown came through the portal and struck the back of her head. Not wanting anything to happen to it, she then turned it over to Principal Celestia. With this information, Twilight and Spike head to the principal's office. As she keeps Spike hidden in her backpack on Fluttershy's advice, Twilight enters Principal Celestia's office and asks her about the crown. Having given it to Vice Principal Luna for safekeeping, Celestia is mystified as to how the crown ended up on the front lawn. Twilight learns from the principal that the crown is to be awarded to the Princess of the upcoming Fall Formal dance. Leaving the office, Spike questions why Twilight didn't just explain the truth to the principal. She was going to, but she came to realize during the conversation how Principal Celestia would react to it; if a human ended up in Equestria and told its people about the human world, ponies would consider them crazy. With few to no alternatives, Twilight decides to run for Princess of the Fall Formal to get her crown back, but she just has no idea how to do so. At lunch, Twilight meets Fluttershy again in the cafeteria and shares with her decision to run for Princess of the Fall Formal. This news comes as a shock to Fluttershy, who warns Twilight that Sunset makes life miserable for those who oppose her. It's here that Twilight also learns about how isolated all the social groups of the school are from one another, from the athletes to the fashionistas to the rockers, and that she'd have to get all of them to vote for her. Twilight is still determined however, and asks where to find the head of the Fall Formal planning committee. She and Spike enter the school auditorium, which is in the process of being decorated. There, they meet another familiar—and at the same time un''familiar—face: Pinkie Pie. While the peppy girl is more than happy to put Twilight's name on the ballot, she's less than thrilled to know Fluttershy is involved. As the two of them talk, in enters another face Twilight recognizes: Applejack, delivering cases of fizzy apple cider with the help of Big McIntosh. Upon learning that Twilight will be running against Sunset Shimmer for Princess, Applejack warns that Sunset is not to be trusted, commenting that the only girl in the school who's even ''less trustworthy is Rainbow Dash. Twilight takes her leave of the auditorium, and Sunset Shimmer enters just moments later with Snips and Snails. She spares no harsh words regarding the decorations and choice of refreshments, inciting Applejack's anger. When Sunset learns that Twilight will be running against her, she goes to "meet the competition". Sunset confronts Twilight in a barely lit, dead end hallway and gives her a verbal lashing, scoffing at her efforts to run for Princess of the Fall Formal, outright insulting and belittling her, and even threatening Spike's safety. Sunset orders Snips and Snails to follow Twilight and bring her something she can use to discredit Twilight in the eyes of the student body. A hungry Twilight comes across a vending machine, and unable to get it open, is about to kick it pony-style when she's interrupted by Trixie, who easily buys a snack from it. Realizing that she really doesn't know anything about this world, Twilight decides to do research about the school to better familiarize herself with it. Much to her delight, Canterlot High has an extensive library. Twilight's attempts at using a computer are inept and awkward, she makes a mess of library books (handling a number of them by mouth rather than by hand), and she has trouble figuring out how to use a copy machine. Unbeknownst to her, Snips and Snails are recording her every embarrassing move via camera phone. That evening, as the library nears closing time, it occurs to Twilight that she hadn't thought about where she and Spike are going to sleep. Luckily, Spike had thought ahead and assembled a bed out of books for them to sleep on, having discovered a rarely used section tucked away on the second floor of the library. Meanwhile, Twilight's research into the school has yielded a yearbook. Inside, she found an old photo of Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity. Although the five appear to be friends in the photo, they don't seem to be friends now. Spike reminds Twilight that she can't focus on why the girls are no longer friends: making friends and beating Sunset Shimmer comes first. The next morning, Twilight is ready to make a good first impression on her fellow students, but she finds that everyone she passes in the hallway is laughing at her. As she wonders why, Rarity suddenly pulls her into an empty classroom and dresses her in a new outfit and wig. At that moment, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie enter the room. They show Twilight a video that Sunset Shimmer had posted online, showing Twilight struggling to adapt to her human form and otherwise embarrassing herself on camera. Mortified, Twilight believes that her chances of getting voted Fall Formal Princess are hopeless. Pinkie Pie offers to help, but Fluttershy advises Twilight against accepting it. Within moments, they, Rarity, and Applejack are at each other's throats. Twilight breaks up the argument and with the yearbook photo, reminds the four that they were all friends once; the girls fondly remember the photo as being at the school's Freshman Fair. Twilight believes that Sunset Shimmer somehow broke them apart, but the girls claim it wasn't Sunset Shimmer that dismantled the four's friendship but a series of text messages and e-mails sent between them that ruined school events they put together: a text from Fluttershy to Pinkie that ruined a silent auction for the animal shelter, a message from Applejack to Rainbow Dash that ruined a bake sale, and so on. However, as the girls come to realize, none of them had sent these alleged messages. At Twilight's encouragement, Applejack approaches Rainbow Dash on the school soccer pitch, where the two work out their misunderstandings and reconcile. With her and Applejack's friendship mended, Rainbow Dash agrees to help Twilight become Princess of the Fall Formal on one condition: beat her in a game of one-on-one. Unfortunately, despite Twilight's best effort throughout, her lack of athleticism and inexperience with sports lead to her thoroughly losing the match. However, Rainbow Dash agrees to help regardless, explaining that what she was actually doing was testing Twilight's "heart and determination", two qualities that the Fall Formal Princess should have; Twilight proved that she has both. Behind the bleachers nearby, Snips and Snails show Sunset Shimmer photos they'd taken on their phones, eliciting an evil grin from the other pony-turned-human. In a coffee shop run by Mr. and Mrs. Cake, Twilight bumps into the boy with spiky blue hair again. As they awkwardly part ways, Twilight finds herself developing a crush on him. Rarity is quick to notice and discourage this; the boy, Flash Sentry, is apparently Sunset Shimmer's ex-boyfriend, and developing a relationship with him would likely invite more of Sunset's wrath. The six friends brainstorm ways to boost Twilight's popularity and get her the votes she needs to be named Princess. Rarity comes up with the idea of getting everyone in the school to wear fake pony ears and tails, to foster unity and school spirit. The next day, the six friends put their plan into action: a lively song and dance in the school cafeteria that rouses everyone into dancing. But even as she watches on from outside the cafeteria, Sunset Shimmer isn't deterred; she has yet another task for Snips and Snails. Later that day, everyone in the school is seen wearing Rarity's pony ears and tails, and school spirit and pride are at an all-time high. But as Applejack points out, Sunset Shimmer still walks down the hall with a smirk. She knocks on the office door of Vice Principal Luna and feigns distress, informing her that the Fall Formal decorations have been destroyed. She accuses Twilight of committing the deed, even presenting photos as evidence. A suspicious Flash Sentry listens in on their conversation, then slips away. Twilight is brought to Luna's office, where Luna shows her the photos and says that the school can't let someone who'd do such a thing run for Fall Formal Princess. Twilight is about to lose herself to despair when there's a knock at the door. Flash Sentry enters, presenting evidence he found in the library trash can. The photos Luna was given were in fact altered to incriminate Twilight, by using cutouts of Twilight from the soccer pitch, superimposed onto backgrounds of the gym decorations being destroyed. In light of this, Luna allows Twilight to continue her Princess bid. Twilight is immensely grateful to Flash for his help, but the damage done to the auditorium means the Fall Formal will have to be postponed until the following evening. Flash asks Twilight if she wants to go the Fall Formal with him. Twilight is about to accept before she realizes what the dance's postponement means. Crying "no!" over and over, she bursts out of the vice principal's office, leaving behind a disappointed Flash Sentry. Twilight dashes into the boutique where her friends are picking out their formal wear and ducks behind a changing room curtain, where she takes stock of the situation: if she doesn't get her crown back by that evening, the portal to Equestria will close and she'll be trapped in this world for thirty moons. Spike suggests they tell her friends the truth and let them know what's at stake, but Twilight is uncertain, worried that they'll reject her for not being human. Spike encourages her, saying that they rallied around her because they saw what was in her heart and won't care that she's actually a pony, at which Twilight tells him that she's glad he followed her. With that, Twilight rallies her friends together in cleaning up and redecorating the school auditorium, an effort that many of the school's students lend a helping hand in. When the renovations are finished, Principal Celestia is so impressed by the students' efforts that she doesn't postpone the Fall Formal. As everyone leaves to get ready for the dance, Celestia reminds the students to vote for the Fall Formal Princess as they leave the gym, and a number of students cast their ballot for Twilight. In a gym equipment storage room, Sunset Shimmer chews out Snips and Snails for going overboard in their trashing of the auditorium, as she needs the Formal to go on that night just as much as Twilight does. The girls return to the boutique to get themselves ready for the Formal later that evening. They change into fancier shoes and dresses and put on jewelry themed after each of their respective Elements of Harmony. The girls arrive at Canterlot High later that evening in a limousine. As they enter the school, Flash Sentry pulls up in his car. He jumps out and quickly runs up to Twilight, asking if she would reconsider and have at least one dance with him. Twilight, jumbling up her words as she attempts to explain that her flurry of "no"'s earlier wasn't directed at him, accepts. Inside the auditorium, the girls and the rest of the attendees dance to Flash Sentry and his band's live performance. Twilight notices Sunset Shimmer is nowhere to be seen and asks Rainbow Dash about it, to which Rainbow Dash replies that she isn't there because she most likely knew Twilight won the Fall Formal crown. After the band finishes their song, Principals Celestia and Luna walk on stage to announce the Princess of the Fall Formal. After some words of praise to the students for their hard work, Principal Celestia announces the winner—Twilight Sparkle. As Principal Celestia congratulates Twilight and places the Fall Formal crown on her head, Snips and Snails sneak into the auditorium through a back door and kidnap Spike. Spike screams out for Twilight, and she runs out after the duo, followed quickly by her friends. Snips and Snails take Spike into the school courtyard near the statue, where Sunset Shimmer is waiting. Twilight and her friends find themselves face-to-face with Sunset Shimmer, brandishing a sledgehammer and ready to destroy the portal back to Equestria. Twilight tells Sunset not to hurt Spike; Sunset, saying she "wouldn't dream of it", tells Snips and Snails to let Spike go. Sunset then gives Twilight an ultimatum: give the crown back and be allowed to return to Equestria, or keep the crown and never go back. Twilight, maintaining her fortitude, keeps the crown. Surprised by this, Sunset tries to reason with Twilight to hand over the crown, to which Twilight replies by explaining she's seen what Sunset has been able to do to Canterlot High even without the magic the crown will give her. Sunset appears to give up, throwing the sledgehammer down. Twilight's friends surround her and commend her selflessness. Hearing the flurry of kind words directed towards Twilight, Sunset loses her temper and charges at Twilight, tackling her and knocking the crown off her head. During the minutes that follow, the crown repeatedly trades hands as Twilight and her friends attempt to keep it out of Sunset's, Snips', and Snails' possession. In a moment of absentmindedness, Twilight tosses the crown away, and it ends up in Sunset's hands. A giddy Sunset immediately places the crown on her head. As soon as she does this, a magical aura surrounds her and she is lifted up into the air. Twilight, her friends, and onlooking Fall Formal attendees watch in horror as Sunset is surrounded by a dark aura and transformed into a demonic creature, with red skin, fiery hair, wings, and a tail. Using her magic, Sunset proceeds to turn Snips and Snails into demons similar in appearance. The students retreat to the supposed safety of the school doors, but the transformed Sunset tears away the entire front entrance, declaring herself the students' "princess" and demanding their loyalty. She flies into the school and projects her magic onto the fleeing students, hypnotizing them into submission. With the student body under her control, Sunset explains to Twilight that it was never her intention to destroy the portal; she wanted the crown not to rule the school but to rule Equestria, with the help of her brainwashed followers. Twilight stands her ground however, and her friends back her up. Unfazed by their defiance, Sunset hurls a fireball at Twilight to take her out. Just before the spell hits, Twilight's friends huddle around her. Sunset cackles at her apparent victory but is shocked to find her attack had no effect. A pink force field surrounding Twilight and her friends had protected them from Sunset's attack. Twilight reasons that the magic contained in her Element of Harmony united with "those that helped create it". An aura from the crown engulfs Twilight and her friends in light, linking each of them to their Element of Harmony and giving them pony-like traits, including actual ears, wings, and hair extensions resembling tails when viewed from the front. Twilight finally proclaims that while Sunset may have the crown on her head, she cannot wield its power because she lacks the most powerful magic of all: the magic of friendship. The magic surrounding Twilight and her friends explodes, causing a double-helical rainbow to shoot out and engulf Sunset Shimmer in a rainbow-colored tornado that strips her of her power and releases the students of her mind control. As the bright light dissipates, the students congregate at the front of the school. Spike runs out to Twilight, who is lying on the ground with her friends. Twilight picks up Spike and hugs him while their friends approach her. The seven of them notice a large crater in the ground, with Sunset Shimmer—returned to normal—lying at the bottom of it. Twilight tells Sunset that she will never be able to rule in Equestria and that she has shown everyone who she really is. Sunset, reduced to tears, apologizes to everyone for what she's done. Twilight goes on to say that the magic of friendship exists everywhere, not just in Equestria, and that Sunset can either seek it out or "forever be alone". Sunset explains she doesn't know anything about friendship, to which Twilight points to her friends and says they can teach her. As Spike cheers the girls on, Principal Celestia walks up to give Twilight her crown back, announcing that what everyone had seen that night was exemplary of how a princess should act. Flash Sentry then extends his hand to Twilight, asking her for a dance. The scene cuts to the auditorium once more, with the students dancing to a reprise of This is Our Big Night. Flash Sentry joins Twilight in a very equine dance style before Photo Finish takes a group picture of Twilight, her friends, and Spike. Twilight embraces her friends in the school courtyard and asks them to look out for Sunset Shimmer. As she asks this, Vice Principal Luna hands Sunset a masonry trowel, with Snips and Snails following up with a wheelbarrow of bricks in order to repair the wall. Twilight tells her friends that although they had only known each other for a short time, she will miss them dearly. Spike compliments Twilight on her crown on the way to the portal, and the two finally step through. The moon rises to its peak to cover over the center star and with a flash of moonlight, the portal closes behind them, causing Twilight's friends to lose their pony ears, wings, and added hair. Pinkie Pie attempts to follow Twilight and Spike through the portal, only to smack into a solid surface. Back in Equestria, Twilight's friends and the princesses wait patiently for her return. Twilight emerges through the portal, teetering on her hind legs as she is once again a quadruped, and drops down to all four hooves. Her friends run up to greet her, congratulating her on her return and the retrieval of her crown. Princess Celestia asks about Sunset Shimmer, and Twilight replies that she's been left in good "hands". As a confused Rainbow Dash and Rarity look at each other, Spike comes through the portal shortly after. After a surprised reaction from Twilight and Pinkie Pie explaining that it was "just a hunch", the scene transitions from a confident Twilight and a happy Spike to an upward internal to external view of the Crystal Empire into the sky. The scene fades to black and the credits roll. Cast Coming soon! Production Development The idea of Canterlot High was originally conceived by Rich Moore in 2008. The inspiration for the idea came from Samono's childhood, when he—as a child—drew several pictures of ???. Describing Canterlot High as a "high school story", Moore wrote a treatment and pitched it to Walt Disney Animation Studios CEO John Lasseter as one of three ideas for possible productions for the studio several times. However, the studio refused to develop the project because they were pre-occupied with Bolt. It wasn't until after Bolt was completed that Disney, who was searching for a project that would "fill the space between" Bolt and Tangled, that Canterlot High was finally green-lit. Lasseter shortly became interested in the project so he agreed to work on it with Moore. In March 2011, Disney announced the film, as appropriately joked as an Untitled Project, which is not a sequel to Bolt and that the film had been commissioned into early stages of development, but little else about the film was known at the time. In December 2012, the studio officially announced that it would be titled Canterlot High, with Moore directing. Disney also announced that it would be releasing the film in November 2015, and hinted that it might be the November 6, 2015 release window previously announced by the studio in October 2012 for a then-untitled Disney animated film. In January 2013, Disney confirmed that it would be releasing the film on November 6, 2015. More coming soon! Casting The film's voice cast consisting of Margot Robbie, Faith Hill, Bryce Dallas Howard, Jenny Slate, Alicia Fox, Kristin Chenoweth, Rainn Wilson, and Selena Gomez were first announced in December 2013. More coming soon! Animation Over the five years before the film's release, Walt Disney Animation Studios had substantially over-hauled its production workflow and animation software. Canterlot High was the first Walt Disney Animation Studios film that used BOOST, a new rendering system that offered the studio's new animation and lighting software through the entire production as part of the overhaul of the rendering system. Called by Walt Disney Animation president John Lasseter as "the next generation of Walt Disney Animation Studios", Pixar's RenderMan was considered as a "Plan B" for the film's rendering, if BOOST was not able to meet production deadlines. A software program called Zoom was used to create over 400 distinctive characters that populate the setting. Another one named Frizzle was responsible for the creation of the setting's 320,000 trees. Development on BOOST started in 2012 and was based upon research into multi-bounce complex, CG supervisor Alexander Batesasked "What if we made these lights just work?" Before the new system, artists had to build reflections and shadows manually, which became increasingly complex as the models and the setups became more technologically advanced. To create the look of Canterlot High, the film's team traveled to several places such as the high school for research and inspiration. They spent over a year in 2010 painting and sketching, and encountering various creatures as well as story locations. The main character Twilight was designed to have eye pupils that are considerably bigger than the stylized small ones of the previous Disney heroes in order to produce the studio's new visuals for the film. Character designer Craig Kellman later explained that the decision was to make the character's eye pupils bigger so she would designed to look "cute". Production wrapped on February 22, 2015. Music Main article: Canterlot High (sountrack) Henry Jackman composed the film's score. The official soundtrack for the film was released on November 6, 2015 by Back Lot Music. Release Canterlot High premiered on November 3, 2015 at the El Captain Theatre, and received a wide theatrical release starting on November 6, 2015 in 2D, 3D, and select IMAX 3D theatres. Marketing The teaser trailer was released by Disney on March 6, 2015 via YouTube and was shown in front of Paradoria, Cinderella, Home, Tomorrowland, and Inside Out. The first official trailer was released on July 1, 2015 and was shown in front of Minions. The official theatrical trailer for the film was released online at Disney's YouTube page on September 4, 2015 and was shown before Metro Cone Forever, Hotel Transylvania 2, and Goosebumps. Walt Disney Animation Studios partnered with more than 100 licensing and promotional partners in a deal valued at an unprecedented $250 million. Spots for the film appeared on ABC, ABC Family, ESPN, Disney Channel, Disney XD, ESPN Deportes, and Disney XD en Espanol. A customized page was created on Fandango. Coinciding with the film's release, Disney also partnered with Subwayto produce eight toys in their kids' meals. A chapter book titled Canterlot High: Through the Mirror by G. M. Berrow was released on October 1, 2015. Its synopsis reads: "Get an exciting longer story in our first Super Special chapter book for CANTERLOT HIGH. In an effort to regain her stolen crown, Princess Twilight Sparkle steps through a magical mirror, into a completely new world where some things have changed, but true friendships remain magical!" Home media Canterlot High was released on Blu-ray (2D and 3D) and DVD on February 23, 2016, while a digital release was released on February 2, 2016. The Blu-ray and Digital releases include three short films (following in Illumination Entertainment's footsteps) titled: Pet Project, Subs Rocks, and The Canterlot Art Club. Extras include audio commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, deleted scenes, and short promotional clips. The film is also set to be released on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray on February 19, 2019. Upon release, the film sold over 2.8 million Blu-ray and DVD units in its first week, making it the second-highest-selling home entertainment film for Disney behind only Frozen. Across all digital and physical formats, Canterlot High generated $74.2 million in its first week. At the end of 2016, it was named the third-highest selling video of the year in the UK, selling 88 million copies since its release. It was the fourth-highest-selling DVD and the third-highest-selling Blu-ray in the country. Television broadcasting Canterlot High had its network television premiere on ABC on Saturday January 27, 2018 at 8:00pm. Freeform aired it on February 24, 2018 at 8:00 pm. It then aired on Disney Channel on March 25, 2018. Disney XD aired this on June 1, 2018. Reception Box office Canterlot High grossed $300,000,000 in North America and $357,000,000 in other territories for a worldwide gross of $657,000,000 against a $165 million budget. Deadline Hollywood calculated the net profit of the film to be $135.2 million, when factoring together all expenses and revenues for the film, making it the fifth-most profitable release of 2015. In North America, the film was released alongside The Peanuts Movie and was projected to gross $40–45 million from 3,928 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $2.2 million from Thursday night previews at 3,100 theaters and $15.1 million on its first day. It went on to open to $39.2 million and topping the box office. In its second week, the film dropped to second while grossing $12.1 million. The film made $8.7 million and $5.3 million in its third and fourth weeks, finishing 8th and 10th respectively. The film's opening was considered to be another animated success for the studio. Critical response Canterlot High received critical acclaim. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 98% approval rating based on 285 reviews with a weighted average rating of 8.7/10. The site's critical consensus states, "With a wise, sentimental tone and plenty of landscapes to guide you through, Canterlot High will perhaps find you off guard." On Metacritic, the film has a normalized score of 87 out of 100, based on 59 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A+" on an A+ to F scale. More coming soon! Accolades Main article: List of accolades received by Canterlot High Canterlot High ''was nominated for various awards and won a number of them, including several for Best Animated Feature. At the 73rd Golden Globe Awards, it won Best Animated Feature Film. It won ten awards at the 43rd Annie Awards, including Outstanding Achievement in Directing in an Animated Feature Production for Moore, Outstanding Achievement in Voice Acting in an Animated Feature Production for Slate and Best Animated Feature. Franchise : ''Main article: Canterlot High (franchise) Because of its critical and commercial success, Canterlot High ''has been turned into a franchise. Sequels ''Main article: Canterlot High 2: Rainbow Rocks A sequel titled Canterlot High 2: Rainbow Rocks was released on August 24, 2018. Rich Moore returned to direct. A third film is set for release on February 1, 2022. The Dazzlings, who last appeared in Canterlot High 2: Rainbow Rocks ''will re-appear in the film. Television series ''Main article: Tales of Canterlot High In November 2017, Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke about plans to develop a television series spin-off of Canterlot High among other properties owned by the company. By November of the following year the series was confirmed for Disney+, and will reportedly continue the story of the previous films. On April 9, 2019, it was announced that Robbie, Gomez, Howard, Slate, Fox, Chenoweth and Wilson would return for the series. In addition, Faith Hill will reprise her role as Applejack. However, Alicia Fox won't be returning as she is replaced by Tara Strong. The series will be released on Disney+ in 2020. Spin-off Main article: Sunset Shimmer (film) A spin-off film, Sunset Shimmer, is set for release on November 20, 2020. Category:EvanRocks Wiki